U.S. patent application number 09/822491 was filed with the patent office on 2002-12-05 for way to improve hard bias properties for an abutted junction gmr recording head.
This patent application is currently assigned to Headway Technologies, Inc.. Invention is credited to Chen, Mao-Min, Chien, Chen-Jung, Han, Cherng-Chyi, Horng, C.T., Torng, Chyu-Jiuh.
Application Number | 20020181171 09/822491 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25236175 |
Filed Date | 2002-12-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020181171 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chien, Chen-Jung ; et
al. |
December 5, 2002 |
Way to improve hard bias properties for an abutted junction GMR
recording head
Abstract
A method for forming a spin-valve type abutted junction GMR
sensor element with a thinner hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer
having significantly improved magnetic properties in the junction
region and a spin-valve type abutted junction GMR sensor element
with a thinner hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer having
significantly improved magnetic properties in the junction region
fabricated according to that method.
Inventors: |
Chien, Chen-Jung; (Milpitas,
CA) ; Torng, Chyu-Jiuh; (Pleasanton, CA) ;
Han, Cherng-Chyi; (San Jose, CA) ; Horng, C.T.;
(San Jose, CA) ; Chen, Mao-Min; (San Jose,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GEORGE O. SAILE
20 MCINTOSH DRIVE
POUGHKEEPSIE
NY
12603
US
|
Assignee: |
Headway Technologies, Inc.
|
Family ID: |
25236175 |
Appl. No.: |
09/822491 |
Filed: |
April 2, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
360/324.12 ;
29/603.07; G9B/5.114 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 5/3903 20130101;
B82Y 10/00 20130101; G11B 5/3163 20130101; G01R 33/093 20130101;
G11B 5/3932 20130101; B82Y 25/00 20130101; Y10T 29/49032 20150115;
G11B 2005/3996 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
360/324.12 ;
29/603.07 |
International
Class: |
G11B 005/39 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for forming a spin-valve type abutted junction GMR
sensor element with a thinner hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer
having significantly improved magnetic properties in the junction
region comprising: providing a substrate; forming over said
substrate a seed layer for the spin-valve GMR sensor element;
forming over said seed layer a spin-valve GMR sensor element;
etching said spin-valve GMR sensor element to produce abutted
junctions; forming over said abutted junctions a lattice matching
seed layer for the hard magnetic bias layer; forming over said
lattice matching seed layer a hard magnetic longitudinal bias
layer; forming over said hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer a
conducting lead layer.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the seed layer for the spin-valve
GMR sensor element is a layer of material chosen from the group
consisting of NiCr and NiFeCr, and is formed to a thickness of
between 15 Angstroms and 200 Angstroms.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the seed layer for the spin-valve
GMR sensor element is a layer of Ta, and is formed to a thickness
of between 15 Angstroms and 200 Angstroms.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein the lattice matching seed layer
for the hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer comprises a layer of
CrX, X being chosen from the group consisting of Ti, W, Mo, V, and
Mn, formed on a Ta underlayer, the Ta being formed to a thickness
of between 10 Angstroms and 200 Angstroms, and the CrX being formed
to a thickness of between 15 Angstroms and 200 Angstroms.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein the lattice matching seed layer
for the hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer is a layer of CrX, X
being chosen from the group consisting of Ti, W, Mo, V, and Mn and
the CrX being formed to a thickness of between15 Angstroms and 200
Angstroms
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the hard magnetic longitudinal
bias layer is a layer of CoY, wherein Y is chosen from the group
consisting of CrPt, Pt, and CrTa alloy, and is formed to a
thickness of between 50 Angstroms and 1000 Angstroms.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the conducting lead layer is a
layer of Ta/Au/Ta and is formed to a thickness of between 100
Angstroms and 1650 Angstroms.
8. A spin-valve type abutted junction GMR sensor element with a
thinner hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer having significantly
improved magnetic properties in the junction region comprising: a
substrate; a seed layer for the spin-valve GMR sensor element
formed over said substrate; a spin-valve GMR sensor element formed
over said seed layer; abutted junctions etched into said spin-valve
GMR sensor element; a lattice matching seed layer for a hard
magnetic longitudinal bias layer formed over said abutted
junctions; a hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer formed over said
lattice matching seed layer; a conducting lead layer formed over
said hard magnetic bias layer.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the seed layer for the spin-valve
GMR sensor element is a layer of material chosen from the group
consisting of NiCr and NiFeCr, and is formed to a thickness of
between 15 Angstroms and 200 Angstroms.
10. The method of claim 8 wherein the seed layer for the spin-valve
GMR sensor element is a layer of Ta, and is formed to a thickness
of between 15 Angstroms and 200 Angstroms.
11. The method of claim 9 wherein the lattice matching seed layer
for the hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer comprises a layer of
CrX, X being chosen from the group consisting of Ti, W, Mo, V, and
Mn, formed on a Ta underlayer, the Ta being formed to a thickness
of between 10 Angstroms and 200 Angstroms, and the CrX being formed
to a thickness of between 15 Angstroms and 200 Angstroms.
12. The method of claim 10 wherein the lattice matching seed layer
for the hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer is a layer of CrX, X
being chosen from the group consisting of Ti, W, Mo, V, and Mn and
the CrX being formed to a thickness of between 15 Angstroms and 200
Angstroms.
13. The method of claim 8 wherein the hard magnetic longitudinal
bias layer is a layer of CoY, wherein Y is chosen from the group
consisting of CrPt, Pt, and CrTa alloy, and is formed to a
thickness of between 50 Angstroms and 1000 Angstroms.
14. The method of claim 8 wherein the conducting lead layer is a
layer of Ta/Au/Ta and is formed to a thickness of between 100
Angstroms and 1650 Angstroms.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates generally to the fabrication of a
giant magnetoresistive (GMR) magnetic field sensor for a magnetic
read head, more specifically to the formation of magnetic bias
layers on an abutted junction.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Magnetic read heads whose sensors make use of the giant
magnetoresistive effect (GMR) in the spin-valve configuration
(SVMR) base their operation on the fact that magnetic fields
produced by data stored in the medium being read cause the
direction of the magnetization of one layer in the sensor (the free
magnetic layer) to move relative to a fixed magnetization direction
of another layer of the sensor (the fixed or pinned magnetic
layer). Because the resistance of the sensor element is
proportional to the cosine of the (varying) angle between these two
magnetizations, a constant current (the sensing current) passing
through the sensor produces a varying voltage across the sensor
which is interpreted by associated electronic circuitry. The
accuracy, linearity and stability required of a GMR sensor places
stringent requirements on the magnetization of its fixed and free
magnetic layers. The fixed layer, for example, has its
magnetization "pinned" in a direction normal to the air bearing
surface of the sensor (the transverse direction) by an adjacent
magnetic layer called the pinning layer. The free layer is
magnetized in a direction along the width of the sensor and
parallel to the air bearing surface (the longitudinal direction).
Layers of hard magnetic material (permanent magnetic layers) or
laminates of antiferromagnetic and soft magnetic materials are
typically formed on each side of the sensor and oriented so that
their magnetic field extends in the same direction as that of the
free layer. These layers, called longitudinal bias layers, maintain
the free layer as a single magnetic domain and also assist in
linearizing the sensor response by keeping the free layer
magnetization direction normal to that of the fixed layer when
quiescent. Maintaining the free layer in a single domain state
significantly reduces noise (Barkhausen noise) in the signal
produced by thermodynamic variations in domain configurations.
Longitudinal bias is also needed to maintain single domain
structure in forms of magnetoresistive sensors that make use of the
anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) effect, wherein the resistance
of the sensor is a function of the angle between the magnetization
of a single magnetic layer and the direction of the current in that
layer. Indeed, it has also been demonstrated that longitudinal bias
is useful in maintaining single domain structure in the magnetic
shield layers that surround read heads and protect them from
extraneous fields.
[0005] The importance of longitudinal bias has led to various
inventions designed to improve the material composition, structure,
positioning and method of forming the magnetic layers that produce
it. As a result of these developments, the present art provides for
sensor structures in which the longitudinal bias layers abut the
ends of the active region of the sensor, fixing the domain
structure of the free magnetic layer by some form of magnetic
interaction. In addition, it has become accepted practice in the
present art to channel the sensing current into and out of the
sensor element by means of conducting lead layers formed directly
over the magnetic bias layers. The status and scope of the present
art can be inferred from a brief description of the following
patents which are listed in chronological order.
[0006] Shen, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,805) teaches the formation
of an AMR sensor whose end portions partially abut longitudinal
bias layers formed of hard magnetic materials whose composition is
not specifically noted. The transverse bias for the sensor is
supplied by a soft magnetic adjacent layer (SAL) separated from the
magnetoresistive layer by a spacer layer. The SAL is magnetized by
the sensor current which is fed into the sensor by conductive leads
formed over the hard magnetic bias layers.
[0007] Yuan et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,739,987) teach the formation of
an abutted junction type AMR sensor in which longitudinal bias is
provided by a multilayer formation of alternating soft
ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AF) films. In contrast to
hard magnetic biasing layers, this multilayer formation is
effectively inactive magnetically and achieves its biasing by
exchange coupling with the magnetoresistive layer of the
sensor.
[0008] Ravipati et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,739,990) teach the
formation of a GMR type sensor in which the longitudinal bias is
provided by either a hard magnetic layer of CoCrPt or CoCrTaPt, or
various forms of conductive or non-conductive antiferromagnetic
materials. In accordance with the method, conductive leads are
formed over the bias layer in a manner that directs the current
along a different path than the path taken by the magnetic bias
fields.
[0009] Shen et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,459) teach the formation of
an encapsulated AMR sensor in which a layer of refractory material
surrounds the magnetoresistive portion of the sensor and protects
it from diffusion and electromigration from the bias layers and
conductive lead layers on either side. The encapsulation layer can
be formed of tantalum, niobium or alloys of tantalum tungsten,
niobium tungsten, niobium tantalum, molybdenum niobium, molybdenum
tungsten, molybdenum tantalum, chromium molybdenum, chromium
tungsten, tantalum rhenium or any of a group of numerous other
camplex carbides and nitrides. The material composition of the bias
layer is not specified.
[0010] Hosoe et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,681) teach the formation
of an entire recording system, which includes a magnetic disk of
novel material structure and a read/write head designed to read and
write on said disk. The read head fabricated to accompany the
system is not of the abutted junction form and it utilizes an
antiferromagnetic domain control layer and a NiFeNb soft magnetic
bias layer.
[0011] Watanabe et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,443) teach the use of
hard magnetic bias layers for maintaining single domain structures
in both the shields and the magnetoresistive layers of a GMR read
head. The hard films are formed on either side of the upper and
lower shields and the leakage magnetic field of said hard layers
orients the magnetization of the shields along their easy axis.
This effect eliminates anisotropic dispersion (caused by domain
breakup) in the shields and also eliminates the hysteresis of the
head as a whole while correspondingly reducing the coercive force.
Although the magnetoresistive element is also longitudinally biased
in the same manner and with the same hard magnetic material as the
shields, it is the biasing of the shields that provides the novelty
of the method of Watanabe. In accordance with the method, the hard
layers are composed of material selected from the group consisting
of a CoPt alloy, a CoPtCr alloy and a CoCrTa alloy, providing a
coercive force, H.sub.c, of not less than 500 Oe.
[0012] Aoshima et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,892) teach the formation
of a GMR read element having an underlayer that reduces current
loss. Since the output of a GMR read head element is proportional
to the amount of sensing current passing through it, a structure
that reduces current loss in the sensor will correspondingly have
an improved sensitivity. The antiferromagnetic pinning layer and
the NiFe underlayer found in many GMR sensors do not directly
contribute to the GMR effect, but do contribute to current loss.
Therefore, according to the method of Aoshima, an underlayer
composed of Ni and NiFe alloy and at least one additive selected
from the group consisting of Cr, Nb, Rh and Pd will reduce the
current loss. In another embodiment of the method, the underlayer
is composed of NiFeCr alloy formed on a Ta sublayer. Also in accord
with the method, the hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer is
composed of CoCrPt.
[0013] The formation of the hard bias layer is most advantageous if
it can be made as thin as possible. Since it is common practice to
form conductive leads for the sensing current over the bias layer,
the thickness of the bias layer raises the height of the leads and
correspondingly increases the overall height of the GMR element. As
magnetic media are recorded at increasingly greater area densities,
it is advantageous to minimize both the height and width of the GMR
sensor element. The width of the sensor element, which defines the
usable track width of the read head, is determined by the distance
between the abutted junctions, which are formed by etching back the
GMR fabrication. The height of the sensor element is determined by
the distance between the magnetic shields that are formed above and
below it. Since the conducting leads are formed over the bias
layer, a thick bias layer will increase the distance between
shields. If the shields are then brought down too close to the
conducting leads in an attempt to minimize thickness, the
possibility of electrical shorting between the leads and the
shields becomes a problem. It is clear that an effective solution
to the thickness problem is to minimize the thickness of the bias
layer, while still maintaining sufficient magnetization to achieve
its desired effects.
[0014] The width of the active portion of the sensor is also
advantageously made as small as possible. This is typically
achieved by making the abutted junction profile sharp and the sides
of the junction close to vertical. A disadvantage of this geometry
is the fact that the sensor stability is then most seriously
affected by the properties of the bias layer at the position of
junction itself, particularly at the tail of the seed layer upon
which the magnetic layers of the sensor element are formed. Our
experiments have demonstrated that the coercivity of the bias
layer, H.sub.c, the magnetic moment of the bias layer and the
squareness of the bias layer, Sq (the ratio of its remanent moment
to its saturation moment), are extremely sensitive to its material
properties and to lattice matching between the bias layer and the
seed and magnetic layers of the sensor at the junction between the
sensor and the bias layer.
[0015] The prior art of forming longitudinal bias layers, as
evidenced by the patents cited above, does not adequately take into
consideration the properties of the bias layer at the junction and
the importance of achieving proper material matching thereat.
Although it has been reported that the properties of magnetic
layers can be improved when they are formed on appropriate
underlayers ("Effects of Cr, CrV, and CrTi underlayers on magnetic,
structural and materials reliability properties of CoPt thin
films," E. W. Singleton, P. B. Narayan, Wei Xiong, Ramas Raman and
Hung-Lee Hoo, J. Appl Phys., Vol. 85, No. 8, Apr. 15, 1999, p.
5840, and "Magnetic and crystallographic properties of CoCrPt thin
films formed on Cr--Ti single crystalline underlayers," N. Inaba,
A. Nakamura, T. Yamamoto, Y. Hosoe and M. Futamoto, J. Appl. Phys.,
Vol 79, No. 8, Apr. 15, 1996, p. 5354), the prior art disclosed
above does not take into consideration the fact that the use of
proper sublayers will screen out structural distortions and the
proper matching of the material properties of the bias layer to the
seed and sensor layers of the GMR element at the junction surface
and particularly at the tail of the seed layer, will both allow the
formation of a thinner bias layer, thus addressing the shorting
problem, and improve the sensitivity and stability of the
sensor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] A first object of this invention is to provide a method for
forming a hard (permanent) magnetic longitudinal bias layer for a
spin-valve type abutted junction GMR sensor element which will
produce a longitudinal bias layer with dramatically improved
coercivity and squareness in the region of the abutted
junction.
[0017] A second object of this invention into provide a method for
forming a thinner hard magnetic bias layer, having the same
magnetic moment as thicker bias layers of the prior art, for a
spin-valve type abutted junction GMR sensor element, thus
alleviating problems of electrical shorting between the sensor and
the surrounding shields.
[0018] A third object of this invention is to provide a method for
forming a hard magnetic bias layer with the properties cited above
which also will not affect the formation of effective conducting
lead layers upon it.
[0019] In accord with the objects of this invention there is
provided a spin-valve type abutted junction GMR sensor element with
a thinner hard longitudinal bias layer having improved hard bias
properties in the region of the abutted junction, and a method for
its fabrication. The hard bias layer so provided is a material
layer composed of CoY, where Y can be any member of the group
consisting of CrNi, CrPt, Pt or CrTa alloy, said hard bias layer
being formed over a seed layer composed of Cr, CrX or Ta/CrX alloy,
where X can be any member of the group consisting of Ti, W, Mo, V
or Mn.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The objects, features and advantages of the present
invention are understood within the context of the Description of
the Preferred Embodiment, as set forth below. The Description of
the Preferred Embodiment is understood within the context of the
accompanying figures, wherein:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an abutted junction GMR
sensor stack having a seed layer, a hard bias layer and a
conducting lead layer fabricated on said abutted junction according
to the method of the present invention. With the exception of its
seed layer, free and pinned magnetic layers, most details of the
sensor stack are omitted, since the stack comprises a typical spin
valve type GMR sensor whose structure is well known to
practitioners of the art
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0022] The present invention is a spin-valve type abutted junction
GMR sensor element with a thinner hard magnetic longitudinal bias
layer having significantly improved magnetic properties in the
junction region. The fabrication of said GMR sensor element in
accord with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is to
be understood in the context of FIG. 1 and the description provided
below.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an abutted junction
spin-valve type GMR sensor element fabricated in accordance with
the methods of this invention. It comprises a spin-valve GMR sensor
stack (10), upon whose abutted junction is formed a seed layer
(14), composed of Cr, CrX or Ta/CrX alloy, where X can be any
member of the group consisting of Ti, W, Mo, V or Mn. Said CrX seed
layer is formed to a thickness of between 15 Angstroms and 200
Angstroms, whereas said Ta underlayer, upon which may be formed the
CrX seed layer, is formed to a thickness of between 10 Angstroms
and 200 Angstroms. Upon the seed layer (14) there is formed a bias
layer (16) of hard (permanent) magnetic material whose purpose is
to provide longitudinal bias for the free ferromagnetic layer (20)
of the sensor element. Said bias layer is composed of CoY, where Y
can be any member of the group consisting of CrNi, CrPt, Pt or CrTa
alloy and is formed to a thickness of between 50 Angstroms and 1000
Angstroms. Upon said bias layer (16), there is formed a conducting
lead layer (18) to carry the sensor current. The conducting lead
layer may be formed of any of several materials known to
practitioners of the art, such as Ta, Mo, Mo/Au/Mo, Cu, or W, and
may be formed by any of several methods, but in the present
embodiment it comprises a layer of Ta/Au/Ta, deposited to a
thickness of between 100 Angstroms and 1650 Angstroms by a method
of ion-beam sputtering.
[0024] The GMR spin-valve type sensor element (10) is fabricated
upon a substrate (11) of Al.sub.2O.sub.3, upon which is formed an
underlying seed layer (12), whose material composition may be
Ta/NiCr, Ta/NiFeCr, NiCr, NiFeCr or Ta. The detailed structure of
the sensor element is not shown, save for a schematic indication of
its free ferromagnetic layer (20), showing its longitudinally
directed magnetic moment (21), a non-magnetic spacer layer (22) and
a pinned ferromagnetic layer (24), having a transversely directed
magnetic moment (26). Particular attention is drawn to the tail
(13) of the seed layer, which is shaded in the figure for emphasis.
The tail is a result of the etching process (an ion etch) that
produces the abutted junction. If a hard magnetic bias layer were
formed directly over the tail, whereby the intervening CrX or
Ta/CrX layer (14) of the present invention would be absent and
which would not be in accord with the method of the present
invention, the tail (13) would produce a lattice mismatch with the
hard magnetic bias layer (16) and adversely affect its magnetic
properties.
[0025] The choice of materials and thicknesses for the seed layer
(14) and hard bias layer (16) was determined by a series of
empirical investigations, as a result of which it was established
that a hard bias layer composed of CoY, with Y being chosen from
the group consisting of CrPt, Pt or CrTa alloy, deposited, as noted
above, on a seed layer consisting of either Cr, CrX or Ta/CrX
alloy, where X can be any member of the group consisting of Ti, W,
Mo, V or Mn, will dramatically enhance the coercivity, H.sub.c, by
at least 20% and squareness, Sq, ("squareness" being the ratio of
remanent moment to saturation moment, M.sub.r/M.sub.s, an indicator
of flux linkage between the bias layer and the GMR free layer) of
the hard bias layer by 6%, near the junction area of a NiCr-based,
NiFeCr-based or Ta-based GMR sensor, while retaining the same total
magnetic moment, M.sub.rt (product of the remanent moment M.sub.r,
and the layer thickness, t), as the thicker bias layers of the
prior art.
[0026] Table 1.1, below, lists the results of experiments carried
out on three samples, each of which had in common a GMR stack with
a NiCr seed layer, an abutted junction and a hard bias layer
consisting of a layer of CoCrPt. The samples differed in the
material of the seed layer on which the hard bias layer was formed;
sample 1 having a Cr seed layer, sample 2 having a Ta/Cr seed layer
(ie a Cr layer formed over a Ta layer) and sample 3 having a
Ta/CrTi seed layer. As the table shows, the configuration of sample
3, which corresponds to a configuration of a preferred embodiment,
has a substantially increased coercivity and squareness as compared
to the other two samples. We conclude from these results that the
Ta sublayer beneath the CrTi seed layer in sample 3 has screened
out the structure distortion produced by the NiCr seed layer of the
GMR stack, while the CrTi improves the lattice matching to the
CoCrPt hard bias layer formed upon it.
1 TABLE 1.1 Structure H.sub.c (Oe) Sq. Sample 1 NiCr/Cr/CoCrPt 650
0.42 Sample 2 NiCr/Ta/Cr/CoCrPt 1100 0.7 Sample 3
NiCr/Ta/CrTi/CoCrPt 1700 0.9
[0027] Table 1.2, below, assesses the physical properties of
samples 4 and 5, which are identical in material composition to
samples 2 and 3 in table 1.1 and also abut a GMR stack with a NiCr
seed layer, but the experiment now focuses on the decrease in the
CoCrPt hard bias layer thickness, t, made possible by the CrTi seed
layer, for a total magnetization, M.sub.rt (product of remanent
moment and thickness), typical of the prior art,. As can be seen,
the CrTi seed layer permits the thickness to be reduced by 100
Angstroms, a significant factor in the fabrication of increasingly
thinner read sensors.
2 TABLE 1.2 Bias thickness t Structure (Angstroms) M.sub.rt
(memu/cm.sup.2) Sample 4 NiCr/Ta/Cr/CoCrPt 450 2.6 Sample 5
NiCr/Ta/CrTi/CoCrPt 350 2.6
[0028] Tables 2.1 and 2.2, below, differ from the previous tables
only in the fact that the GMR stack now has a Ta seed layer rather
than an NiCr seed layer. CrTi/CoCrPt is the (seed layer/hard bias
layer) structure outside the abutted junction, while Ta/CrTi/CoCrPt
is the structure near the junction, the Ta originating in the GMR
stack seed layer.
3 TABLE 2.1 Structure H.sub.c (Oe) Sq. Sample 6 Cr/CoCrPt 1600 0.85
Sample 7 Ta/Cr/CoCrPt 1250 0.84 Sample 8 CrTi/CoCrPt 1900 0.9
Sample 9 Ta/CrTi/CoCrPt 1600 0.89
[0029]
4 TABLE 2.2 Hard bias thickness Structure (Angstroms) M.sub.rt
Sample 10 Cr/CoCrPt 450 3.1 Sample 11 CrTi/CoCrPt 400 3.1
[0030] As is understood by a person skilled in the art, the
preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrative of
the present invention rather than limiting of the present
invention. Revisions and modifications may be made to methods,
materials, structures and dimensions employed in fabricating a
spin-valve type abutted junction GMR sensor element with a thinner
hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer having significantly improved
magnetic properties in the junction region, while still providing a
method for fabricating such a spin-valve type abutted junction GMR
sensor element with a thinner hard magnetic longitudinal bias layer
having significantly improved magnetic properties in the junction
region, in accord with the spirit and scope of the present
invention as defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *